Greetings from the Pennsic Known World A&S Display deputy! That’s right – WE’RE BACK. Thanks to the innovation of the eSCA, this year’s display will be fully virtual!
August 1 to 8: Website space is available to post photos/videos and documentation of all entries for public viewing.
August 8: Interested entrants can schedule Zoom “office hours” to discuss their work with the populace.
If you are interested in displaying this year, please register using this form.
For more information, or to view the entries, please visit our website.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email the KWAS staff.
Yours in Service,
Lady Adele Lochlane, Display Coordinator
Magistra Beatriz Aluares de la Oya, Deputy Coordinator
Lady Glenna Cholmondeley’s sprang from a past Pennsic A&S display.
Continuing the freshly-minted tradition of virtual sharing in these times of plague, the Kingdom Office of Arts & Sciences once again reached out to our fabulous Arts & Sciences Championship artisans to share their work with the populace at large on a more personal level. The virtual Kingdom Championship was also a juried competition, and included a week’s worth of face to face judging – with judges especially selected for their knowledge and background – as well as an online populace “meet and greet the artisans.” Master Hrólfr and I, your Kingdom Arts & Sciences officers, enjoy finding new ways to inspire and motivate our artisans in these trying times and we are happy to see the Championship ran so smoothly!
Could you tell me a little about you, your persona? My persona is Japanese artisan from late period Azuichi-Momoyama (1573-1603). I am in the household of samurai class.
What inspired you to make your entry? The Kikko braid book by Claudia Wollney inspired me. I braid on the marudai almost exclusively and having a book with that particular kikko pattern adapted for the marudai with 85 different patterns was too tempting. The kikko pattern is very old in Japan dating back at least to Heian period as a braid. The pattern is symbolic of the tortoiseshell pattern and symbolizes the long life of a tortoise. I wanted to try the pattern and this was my first 32 strand braid. I have braided a couple 24 strand braids, but mostly stick to 16 strand braids.
Did the entry throw up any unexpected issues? The pattern is very simple set of 8 moves, but with 32 strands on the marudai, it was very easy to set a strand down in the wrong place or to pick up the wrong next strand or forget exactly where I was. So I had to develop some techniques to keep the cords organized, and make up a little chant to keep track of where I was. I also had to make sure I never braided when I was tired, and not braid for too long at any sitting.
What did you think of the virtual face to face judging concept? I think the way the virtual judging was done in the sessions worked well. It was awkward somewhat when there were judges missing, but I was delighted at how the organizers were able to pull together judging staff and make it work. I think there is a lot of good in something that is more accessible and doesn’t require the travel.
What motivated you to enter the Kingdom Championship? I participated because the local baroness urged local artisans to enter. I had been working on the braid and figured if it turned out well, I could enter. I don’t like competitions and judging feedback discourages me.
Hara Kikumatsu posted about her entry on her personal blog as well.
Are you interested in reading more about the entry after this appetizing interview? You can! All entries including documentation and images are available at the Kingdom Office of Arts and Sciences website.
Continuing the freshly-minted tradition of virtual sharing in these times of plague, the Kingdom Office of Arts & Sciences once again reached out to our fabulous Arts & Sciences Championship artisans to share their work with the populace at large on a more personal level. The virtual Kingdom Championship was also a juried competition, and included a week’s worth of face to face judging – with judges especially selected for their knowledge and background – as well as an online populace “meet and greet the artisans.” Master Hrólfr and I, your Kingdom Arts & Sciences officers, enjoy finding new ways to inspire and motivate our artisans in these trying times and we are happy to see the Championship ran so smoothly!
Today’s interview is with Lady Ilaria Rosati, who entered the Kingdom of Æthelmearc Arts and Sciences Championship with A French Hood, from circa 1525. Lady Ilaria entered the Virtual Queen’s Prize Tourney, as well as the Æthelmearc Kingdom Arts & Sciences Championship with a different set of head coverings, and her skillful artistry secured her the honored place of the Queen’s Champion!
Could you tell me a little about you, your persona? I’ve always been interested in all kinds of headwear, and I’ve been working my way through a chronology of representative styles of high-status women’s headdresses of the 15th and 16th centuries, which ended up being centered around France. I’m more interested in the styles themselves than trying to match them to my persona, so I just followed where they led. The first style I made was the bourrelet for my Queen’s Prize Tourney entry. The French hood comes a little more than 100 years later.
What inspired you to make your entry? I expected French hoods to be relatively challenging, but this ended up being the hardest project I’ve ever done! It was quite a puzzle trying to figure out the different parts and layers and how they might fit together.
Did the entry throw up any unexpected issues? Artistic evidence can be incomplete, hard to interpret, or have uncertain dating. Textual evidence is hard to find, because it is locked away in archives, and what does exist is fragmentary, ambiguous, and sometimes contradictory. Also, the French hood spans over a century across different places, and has many variations. Trying to dial in on a specific style in a particular time and place was very difficult.
I also wanted to find my own way through the construction without copying anyone else. It makes the process more engaging, and it’s fun to see other reconstructions and whether we’ve reached similar conclusions.
Did you learn something specific, something you would do differently, or would recommend others to do again? I would recommend to anyone making French hoods to get a good head block that accepts pins, and a stand that can be secured. It’s preferable to trying to fit the back of your own head!
What did you think of the virtual face to face judging concept? I really liked the face-to-face judging. I could tell that the organizers put a lot of effort into matching entrants with judges, and that made feedback very rewarding. I thought the rubric was very clear, and it helped me think of the questions I should ask myself as I worked.
What motivated you to enter the Kingdom Championship? I wanted to enter Kingdom Championships to represent my Barony, Barony of Delftwood, and to challenge myself. I’m very glad I did!
Are you interested in reading more about the entry after this appetizing interview? You can! All entries including documentation and images are available at the Kingdom Office of Arts and Sciences website.
Continuing the freshly-minted tradition of virtual sharing in these times of plague, the Kingdom Office of Arts & Sciences once again reached out to our fabulous Arts & Sciences Championship artisans to share their work with the populace at large on a more personal level. The virtual Kingdom Championship was also a juried competition, and included a week’s worth of face to face judging – with judges especially selected for their knowledge and background – as well as an online populace “meet and greet the artisans.” Master Hrólfr and I, your Kingdom Arts & Sciences officers, enjoy finding new ways to inspire and motivate our artisans in these trying times and we are happy to see the Championship ran so smoothly!
Lady Thalia resides in the Barony of the Rhydderich Hael.
Could you tell me a little about you, your persona?
My involvement with the SCA began when I was living down in western Virginia in the Charlottesville area in the Kingdom of Atlantia with a small local group, the Shire of Isenfir. My first SCA event I attended was the Kingdom of Atlantia Arts and Science Championship. I participated in monthly archery practices, took classes in Arts and Science, and attended weekly dance practice. I moved to Buffalo and joined the Barony of the Rhydderich Hael in 2016 and Ice Dragon was my first event I attended in Æthelmearc. The persona I chose was Viking as the style of garb with apron dresses and strings of beads which I found particularly interesting. The aspects of my heraldry include two of my favorite things, the butterfly (as my mundane first name means butterfly in Spanish) and comedy masks which translated into finding my SCA name which is both French and English that means butterfly in French (Papillon) and comedy masks (Thalia) as English representation for theater in England.
What inspired you to make your entry? Did you have a specific need?
The inspiration for making my entry is my love for doing needlework as I have been doing cross stitch since I was kid, which I learned from my Aunt. After entering several arts and science displays, making largesse to donate to the Kingdom, as well as entering completed cross stitch work into competitions including the Pentathlon, I received encouragement from peers who saw my work with cross stitch to branch out to trying blackwork because of the skill I already had with needlework, to move towards doing work that is representative of the Middle Ages period. I found myself being open to trying a new skill as I have the basics down with doing needlework and felt that I had the ability to be able to branch out to try a different form of needlework.
Did the entry throw up any unexpected issues?
As I started working on the entry, due to the nature of the pattern being a chain-like pattern, I chose to inquire with a peer what would be the best area of the pattern to start with, the length of thread to use, and how to loop it in on the other side so as not have too many loose ends of threads on the other side as it is custom in blackwork for the work to look identical on both sides of the fabric. I am accustomed to starting in the center of the fabric when working on cross stitch so that the design is centered. I found it a bit challenging to start on a different area of the pattern other than the center only because that is what I am used to doing with cross stitch, and had concerns about the design not being even or centered. I had to pay particular attention to the reverse side of the fabric to make sure stitches were going in the same direction as the ones on the other side so that both sides would be identical. I was able to grasp this concept to some degree, however, I would have to continue to work on ending the stitches on the other side so that there would less thread tails showing, which would take some time and continued practice.
Lady Thalia’s blackwork entry.
Did you learn something specific, something you would do differently, or would recommend others to do again?
This piece was my first venture into stitching a project using a pattern from a period sampler. Something different that I would do is to continue to work on pieces that are from a period reference and have historical significance. I would also like to spend time exploring blackwork to look for other patterns to work on and do additional research of how black work was utilized in the Middle Ages time period.
There are several things that I learned in the course of the virtual judging. I had been under the impression that black work patterns should look the same on either side of the fabric no matter which side was being looked at. It was helpful to find out during judging that the stitching should look identical on either side if the blackwork was being used to adorn clothing such as cuffs at the end of sleeves, etc. The other thing I learned was that if only the front portion of the design was visible that it was not as necessary to have both sides of the stitching look identical.
What did you think of the virtual face to face judging concept?
The kingdom championship was my first encounter with face to face judging for my work. I had entered A&S competitions / displays before where face to face judging was not a part of the competition. I was quite nervous about the prospect of going through the judging process. There were multiple aspects of the virtual judging that helped with my comfort level and nervousness. I liked the fact that I was paired with judges who were familiar with embroidery and also cross stitch. It helped the conversation flow with the judges, as I could share my experiences and knowledge of cross stitch and my experience with blackwork embroidery thus far. It was also helpful to have judges with similar interests to be able to be open with them about my work process and understand their recommendations with expanding my work in terms of trying different materials, making the work more to scale. For example, trying to use a different type of fabric and thread. I also received advice about how to space out stitches with the different type of fabric in comparison to the type of fabric that I had been using for years.
I was very pleased with the four judges that I encountered as they really made the effort to let me know about how detailed and clean my work was, which I very much appreciated as I really put a conscious effort into doing the needlework well. I also appreciated the encouragement from the judges to keep on going with advancing my work and how they appreciated seeing works that are in progress. I was also very pleased with the feedback that I received regarding my documentation, as I try ongoing to make improvements every time with feedback I received from a previous competition. Overall, I was very pleased with the scoring that I received ranging from a 3 to 5 and 6, which I felt was quite an accomplishment for only the first time being judged for an A&S Competition. I felt the overall process from the judging to how the competition was run was very successful and well organized.
What motivated you to enter the Kingdom Championship?
I chose to enter the kingdom championship for several different reasons. I would like to have opportunities to showcase my work and to be able to share with others because before coming to the SCA, the pieces that I worked on were only shared with a few close people in my life. I would like opportunities for feedback / guidance as I have taken the first steps towards branching out in different type of needlework as encouraged by peers. I find that being able to create things with needlework to be very satisfying and uplifting. I have also had the personal satisfaction thus far of seeing how my work can be appreciated by others, and that items that I have had made with cross stitch for largesse have been shared and appreciated by others. I would like to continue in this path be able to learn more and gain more experience with blackwork.
Are you interested in reading more about the entry after this appetizing interview? You can! All entries including documentation and images are available at the Kingdom Office of Arts and Sciences website.
Continuing the freshly-minted tradition of virtual sharing in these times of plague, the Kingdom Office of Arts & Sciences once again reached out to our fabulous Arts & Sciences Championship artisans to share their work with the populace at large on a more personal level. The virtual Kingdom Championship was also a juried competition, and included a week’s worth of face to face judging – with judges especially selected for their knowledge and background – as well as an online populace “meet and greet the artisans.” Master Hrólfr and I, your Kingdom Arts & Sciences officers, enjoy finding new ways to inspire and motivate our artisans in these trying times and we are happy to see the Championship ran so smoothly!
11th Century Naalbind Accessories, including a beef bone needle and wood bobbins.
Could you tell me a little about you, your persona?
My persona is actually 14th century French but because our family participates in historical Scandinavian reenactment outside of the SCA, I’ve spent more time in the last ten years researching various aspects of Viking age Scandinavia and the cultures they interacted with. Guess you could say I spend more time there than in 14th century Calais! While both of the pieces in my entry were at the tail end of The Viking era, 11th century, only one was definitively Scandinavian (Finnish, more precisely.) However, because naalbinding forms were so prevalent across the world for so many centuries, I would expect that my 10th century Scandinavian self probably was aware of, if not accomplished in, the art form.
What inspired you to make your entry?
Oh, the mittens! When I saw other recreations of them, I was just so excited to try them myself. To me, they resemble Wonder Woman’s costume and I just had to make a set for my daughter! The hat was actually a practice piece for a hat I’m making for a friend in my shire. But it turned out better than I expected and really, you can never have enough hats!
Work in progress on the Eura “Wonder Woman” mittens.
Did the entry throw up any unexpected issues?
I hit road bumps with both projects. With the mittens, there are only fragments to go by and we can’t even say with certainty that they were, in fact, mittens. I believe they were but recreating an entire piece based on fragments has its hurdles. With the hat, we have a completed extant piece but so little information on it! No one knows where it came from, who actually made it or whether it was inspired by Middle Eastern nalbind or Scandinavian nalbind. The only historical use for the stitch itself is this one hat. With both pieces, there was a lot of drawing inferences and trying to connect the most logical dots. But experimental archeology is the fascinating part for me!!
Did you learn something specific, something you would do differently, or would recommend others to do again?
Mostly my learning experiences here were method based. The wool fiber I used for the hat was a bit too thick for the Trier stitch so next time I know I need to use a smaller fiber. I experimented with different yarns on the mittens and gained insights into how different wools behaved, regarding torsion, tension and splicing. I also finally convinced myself that stitch counters are important, lol!
What did you think of the virtual face to face judging concept?
I have had a unique perspective on face to face judging; I’ve been an entrant, a judge and as former KMOAS, I have coordinated face to face judging for the Champs competitions. My personal learning style is such that I tend to prefer face to face judging for myself. I just am better at explaining and talking than writing, for the most part. I did worry about the virtual aspect and my Laurel and I did a practice session in Zoom just to work out the technical aspects and to get more comfortable with the online setting. I think this actually opens up more opportunities for artisans, to be honest! It is hard to organize judging for 15 people in a one day event and the judges wind up spending the entire event working. I know that can be rough on both our judges and our entrants. Spreading it out over the span of a week was very nice!!!
Early stages of a nalbound project: the possibilities are endless!
What motivated you to enter the Kingdom Championship?
This year has stunk for all of us. I started out tracking my hours spent teaching and making art at the beginning of the year but then when the world shutdown, I got depressed and really stopped doing much with my needlework. I have two terminally ill parents and my own house to take care of and family and home obligations just took so much of my time this year, on top of not being at events. I used the competition as a goal to get back into my art and it really did help! And I started crying when I began seeing everyone’s faces when judging began!!! On top of that, I did get really helpful feedback and support!!!
Are you interested in reading more about the entry after this appetizing interview? You can! All entries including documentation and images are available at the Kingdom Office of Arts and Sciences website.
Continuing the freshly-minted tradition of virtual sharing in these times of plague, the Kingdom Office of Arts & Sciences once again reached out to our fabulous Arts & Sciences Championship artisans to share their work with the populace at large on a more personal level.
The virtual Kingdom Championship was also a juried competition, and included a week’s worth of face to face judging — with judges especially selected for their knowledge and background — as well as an online populace “meet and greet the artisans.” Master Hrólfr and I, your Kingdom Arts & Sciences officers, enjoy finding new ways to inspire and motivate our artisans in these trying times and we are happy to see the Championship ran so smoothly!
Maggie Rue’s entry included a miniature display for everyone’s enjoyment, as well as a paper presentation on the Apothecary.
Could you tell me a little about you, your persona?
Maggie Rue is a complicated woman with dealings in a lot of things. She is a procurer— someone that people would come to asking about items or information and she would provide it at the right price. My character would actually run the apothecary. She may deal in questionable content at times, but needs a legitimate business to stay afloat and take care of family, so the store serves as a front and a legitimate way to work heavily in trade around the world.
The apothecary work room, including miniature furniture, mortar and pestle, as well as storage jars.
What inspired you to make your entry?
I’ve been writing a newsletter for a while and was working on apothecaries when the call came up to enter the championship. I put together a paper on the information I’ve been working on and was hoping to have enough time to put together a miniature apothecary that would go with the paper as a sort of instructional manual for apothecaries. The need is to teach others on what it is to be an apothecary and what it would be like to see one in person.
Did the entry throw up any unexpected issues?
The entry was supposed to be an introductory paper on apothecaries for newcomers and people interested in such a persona; it was not in any way a research paper of high caliber and I realized during judging that it had been anticipated as such.
Did you learn something specific, something you would do differently, or would recommend others to do again?
Yes. I realized that I was going to take this paper and use it as a chapter for persona/character creation for the SCA, LARPs, and roleplaying games. It’s a great way to provide information to others on how to portray their characters/persona.
What did you think of the virtual face-to-face judging concept?
The miniature was supposed to be a part of the competition and the judges all felt that because it wasn’t put forward as such, they didn’t want to look at it as much. In all honesty, my stuff never translates well to judging and I’m likely not going to bother entering anymore since my intentions are never understood as well as I liked.
What motivated you to enter the Kingdom Championship?
I figured I should enter something because I have information to share, I feel that if I’m not doing anything people will forget I’m around doing this stuff, and it was motivation to make the miniature, which will be used at demos as a great tool for education. If you feel discouraged or have trouble with criticism (it happens to everyone), know that your information is still valuable and is needed to help the SCA as a community. I hope that my miniatures and papers will someday be on display 50 years from now with some SCA-related group and they will be valuable as much then as they are now in teaching newcomers and people looking at different aspects of medieval reenactment.
Are you interested in reading more about the entry after this appetizing interview? You can! All entries including documentation and images are available at the Kingdom Office of Arts and Sciences website.
Continuing the freshly-minted tradition of virtual sharing in these times of plague, the Kingdom Office of Arts & Sciences once again reached out to our fabulous Arts & Sciences Championship artisans to share their work with the populace at large on a more personal level. The virtual Kingdom Championship was also a juried competition, and included a week’s worth of face to face judging – with judges especially selected for their knowledge and background – as well as an online populace “meet and greet the artisans.” Master Hrólfr and I, your Kingdom Arts & Sciences officers, enjoy finding new ways to inspire and motivate our artisans in these trying times and we are happy to see the Championship ran so smoothly!
Today’s interview is with Laird Coinneach Mac an Leigh, who entered the Kingdom of Æthelmearc Arts and Sciences Championship with the Mary Rose Purser’s Chest. Not only was Laird Coinneach the very first artisan to enter the Kingdom Championship, his skillful artistry also secured him the honored place as the King’s Champion!
Laird Coinneach Mac an Leigh entry the Mary Rose Purser’s Chest
Could you tell me a little about you, your persona?
Coinneach is a journeyman cabinetmaker and woodworker. This project is something he built for the purser of the Mary Rose.
What inspired you to make your entry?
Ever since I thumbed through Before the Mast, I’ve wanted to re-create some of those wonderful pieces. The Purser’s Chest is fairly simple in construction, so it seemed like a good project to start.
Did the entry throw up any unexpected issues?
I have been planning this project, off and on, for a decade or more. With all that planning, the actual construction went smoothly. The most difficult part was ascertaining the position of the trunnion sockets in the front and back panels; they had to be precisely opposite each other for the till lid to operate. Using a template helped make this happen.
Did you learn something specific, something you would do differently, or would recommend others to do again?
In retrospect, I would have liked to have done some more research on period paints. The original was almost certainly painted for protection against the salt air, and while modern paint looks okay, a period reproduction should have a period finish.
What did you think of the virtual face to face judging concept?
I enjoyed the face-to-face judging! I found I was able to respond quickly and accurately, and I have to admit I enjoyed talking about my project.
What motivated you to enter the Kingdom Championship?
I can’t deny the interest in exposure, but one of the main reasons for entering was to show that period joinery is within the capabilities of the weekend woodworker. Particularly in English woodwork, the joints are relatively simple; you cut away part of one board to make a place for the second one. That’s the essence of the joinery in the Purser’s Chest: part of the thickness of the front and back panels is cut away for fitting the end boards. Part of the end boards is cut away to fit the bottom. That’s all there is to it! If I can do it, so can anyone else.
Anything else you would like to share?
I want to thank His Majesty, the judges, and the Ministers of Arts & Sciences. I look forward to serving the Arts & Sciences community over the next year, and I hope to see many, many more beautiful examples of Æthelmearc’s extraordinary artisans’ crafts
Are you interested in reading more about the entry after this appetizing interview? You can! All entries including documentation and images are available at the Kingdom Office of Arts and Sciences website.
From our Kingdom A&S Minister, Master Hrólfr á Fjárfelli:
Greetings All!
The Virtual Kingdom A&S Championship event page is now up at our Kingdom A&S Website 🙂 You can sign up for entering and judging through easy web forms, just follow the links on the event page: http://aeans.aethelmearc.org/virtual-as-championship/
The Report of the Æthereal Court of Maynard and Liadain, King and Queen of Æthelmearc, held on the 11th day of July Anno Societatis 55 at the Æthelmearc Æcademy, Baron Brandubh O’Donnghaile, Jewel Herald.
Their Majesties Maynard and Liadain opened Their Court and welcomed all who had attended the Æthelmearc Æcademy.
Baroness Elena de la Palma, Dean of the Æthelmearc Æcademy was invited to speak.
She spoke of her appreciation for all of the Teachers, Zoomerators, Class attendees, and Baroness Amalie Reinhardt for technical assistance. Their Majesties in turn thanked Baroness Elena and all her staff for hosting the Virtual Æthelmearc Æcademy.
Their Majesties invited the Kingdom Ministers of Arts and Sciences Master Hrolfr a Fjarfelli and Mistress Elska a Fjarfelli into court.
Hrolfr and Elska spoke about the Virtual Queen’s Prize Tournament which had just concluded.
They were truly in awe of the response.
In the Wake of Ice Dragon and Artisans Faire events being cancelled, Hrolfr and Elska wanted to give the artisans of Æthelmearc a forum to display the Arts and Sciences.
To this end, they opened the Virtual Queen’s Prize Tourney for artists to publicly share their work and documentation openly to all the Known World, and receive feedback on their work.
18 artisans had presented 23 separate entries into the virtual Tournament.
Master Hrolfr and Mistress Elska then presented the prize for best documentation and overall winner of the tournament to Lady Ilaria of Delftwood for her entry of Three Early 15th Century Bourrelet Headdresses. Scroll is a work in progress.
His Majesty Maynard awarded the King’s Choice honor to THL Gesa van Wellenstein for her entry of a White scarf Scroll award scroll. Scroll is a work in progress
Her Majesty Liadain presented the Queen’s Choice award to Baroness Aranwen Ap Rhys Verch Gwalter for her entry of a Pagan Lady of the Isle of Man Necklace from Late 900AD Recreation . Scroll a work in progress
Lady Fede di Fiore was then called into Their Majesties’ Court. Before all witnesses here assembled, Their Majesties inducted Lady Fede into the Order of the Fleur d’Æthelmearc for her outstanding and continuing work in tailoring garments, clothing and teaching the art of the seamstress. Scroll Border limning by Lady Serena Milani, scrivened and medallions painted by Lady Magdalena Txoperena, parchment prepared by Lady Niccola Beese, upon a text by Don Jehan le Blanc.
Her Majesty Liadain then spoke of her inspiration for the day, and spoke of Baroness Amalie Reinhardt for all of her support of the online efforts to hold the Virtual Æthelmearc Æcademy and Court. So Her Majesty presented her a personal token.
Their Majesties thanked everyone for attending Æcademy and Their Court. They are exploring some possible options for non-traditional courts, so please submit award recommendations.
Their Majesties thanked Baroness Elena de la Palma and Baroness Amalie Reinhardt and all their staff for their efforts in bringing the event to everyone this day.
They thanked scribes and medallion makers who had work to create the beautiful works of art that were given in Their Court, and reminded the populace to watch AE Live online.
Today’s article in our series on the Kingdom’s Virtual Queen’s Prize Tourney is about a beautiful entry titled Fabric Banners, made by artisan Richard Foxmoore. As we do not have the ability to converse with our entrants face to face, the Virtual Queen’s Prize Tourney now offers the opportunity to drool over images and read the documentation right there on the Kingdom Ministry of Arts & Sciences website – even to leave feedback! And to learn a little more about the artisan and their thoughts behind their entry, the organizers decided to broaden our traditional entry of object and documentation with personal interviews.
Banners I have made for the people of the SCA from device/ awards pictures they sent me. I use duct cloth and embroidery thread.
Could you tell me a little about you, your persona.
I have not yet determined a specific time period. For the time being, I am more or less encompassing an overall “generic medieval” persona than anything else. Sometimes it leans more to Viking, sometimes Norman, and sometimes Pirate. I feel my entries falls sometime between the late 12th, early 13th century to the early 16th century modern days.
What inspired you to make your entry?
My journey in this field started as just wanting to learn a new skill. As with most things I do. I dove into it using the learn as-you-go along with the trial and error method. All this as I made my first banner for a friend. As the banner was seen by others, they requested their own banners, and so the ball started rolling.
What is your intention with your entry?
My intentions with this entry is to simply have it noted and to field comments I can use to improve my skills and my finished projects ( It is my hope that my work will be viewed by a laurel who would perhaps consider me as a candidate for apprentice). While I have made many banners as gifts or at cost for close friends, I have begun to sell them as well.
Did the entry throw up any unexpected issues?
Each banner or project I do is its own unique challenge. They are all so completely different and yet have commonalities as well. It is the combining of the unique with the common that makes the challenge of each banner its own journey. I have long had a love of doodling or drawing. I think this artistic streak in me helps make the creation of each project exciting.
Did you learn something specific, something you would do differently, or would recommend others to do again?
While traveling down the road that has led me to making my entry, I have learned that there are many arts within the SCA. In the past the bulk of my participation was as a fighter, however, as life progressed and time and age changed things, I have found there are still many venues and paths open to me to grow and expand my knowledge within the society. I suppose the motto is, its never to late to start a new journey on a new path.
What motivated you to enter the Virtual Queen’s Prize Tourney?
I entered the VQPT to take a chance on something new, share my new skills with others, and hopefully inspire others to be open to try something new. Although I began learning embroidery about a year ago, I did not start making banners until 4 months ago. I will be the first to say the quality of my work is not ideal and can always improve. I don’t expect it to be the best work of art out there, but I do challenge myself to produce the best product I can and over the last 4 months , I have seen an improvement and refinement in my work.
Is there anything you would like to add?
My philosophy would be that if you see something that someone else has displayed at an event and like it, then try to make it for yourself. Your initial attempts may hit roadblocks and may result in failure. Also, remember every ” failure ” is really just a lesson learned and each such lesson improves your knowledge of your craft . With time you will see your effort pay off and it will result in something outstanding. You may even find yourself with a new respect for ” handmade ” things once you see exactly how much time, effort and work goes into making one. When you succeed you will have new skills to share with others, and a lifetime to continually improve those skills. Enjoy what you do and be most proud of all that you try.
Thank you, Richard of Foxmoore, for sharing your wonderful work with our Kingdom’s artisans and populace!
If you would like to see Richard’s entry, follow this link. And if you liked his work, have a question to ask, or a tip to share – please leave your comments with his entry! You can “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of the entry’s page. Their Majesties announced the winners in Virtual Court at the Æthelmearc Æcademy on July the 11th, and the winners are listed in the Virtual Queen’s Prize Tourney website.
Greetings All!
The Report of the Æthereal Court of Maynard and Liadain, King and Queen of Æthelmearc, held on the 11th day of July Anno Societatis 55 at the Æthelmearc Æcademy, Baron Brandubh O’Donnghaile, Jewel Herald.